Well I had heard alot about this beer, but I hadn't been to Town Hall since my beer appreciation really got going. Expectations were high for this one and they were met and exceeded. Simply wow. This beer is amazing. The hazy orange color and the citrusy aroma are spot on. The flavor is very hoppy but with a pleasant malt balance. It's just damn enjoyable. Very tempted to give it all fives. I can't wait to have another. (423 characters)

Appearance is soft, velvety, seductive. A Nordic goddess if you will. Some piney notes on the smell, but subtle. Our goddess is into seduction and doesn't want to reveal too much, until you are in the web. Mouthfeel is amazing on cask. Creamy and smooth, this temptress is teasing you, but she delivers in the end. Taste is subdued yet powerful, we are not getting hit over the head here, like a west coast IPA. This woman is the total package.

Please, keep in mind. I am talking about this beer on cask, only. I enjoyed it on tap, but cask turns it into one of the best beers I have ever had. (595 characters)

A- Thick cream head that is very dense and has good head retention. Dark orange body that is very clear. Thick lacing that covers the whole top with bits sticking to the side of the glass.
S- Big pine hops mixed in with some big grapefruit hops as well. Few other fruits come through also. There is a decent size malt backbone to it also.
T-A blend of citrus and pine hops. The pine stick around leaving a nice dry bitterness around the mouth. The hop flavor just really sticks to all around the mouth. Grapefruit sneaks through the pine before it sets in. There is a decent malt body for all the hops to stand on.
M-Full body with low to medium carbonation.
D-I really like it but I think Blind Pig and Alesmith IPA are still the top 2. This would probably be my 3rd favorite though. I think it is very well balanced and just a great flavor. I could easily see my drinking a few of them if they were easier to get. (920 characters)

P: Presented in a 64 fl. oz. growler with Minneapolis Town Hall Brewery (Est. 1997) logo design. Again, thanks to "Masala Mama" for coming through in the growler-running-clutch. Poured aggressively into a pint glass.

A: Pours a hazed, dark copper with a one-finger, bone-white head that reveals intricately complex lacing throughout the session.

S: The nose is all citrus hops with accents of grapefruit, pineapple, peach, pine resin, and brown sugar. The combined aromas waft over an underlying sweetness of caramel malt.

Beautiful hazy orange-amber with a full white head.Fresh,bright,full hop nose.This is the smell of I.P.A.
Take a sip...Full hop attack,citrus,resin,and oh so chewy nice.There is some malt to give balance but this ones all about the hops.Drink in hoppy happy swigs and the flavors bounce all over your head.It lingers and keeps you company if you can wait that long.Sadly some days I get blown away after a couple of these.Yes im proud to be a mamas boy. (456 characters)

Thursdays at my house growing up were always reserved for family time. My father would sit and tell us kids stories about the Korean War, while my mother would sit in her chair knitting the ever-present and continually unfinished sweater. Tommy and I would listen intently to my father while occasionally looking over when my mother would mutter an expletive or two while missing a knit or pearl.

The stories my father told were often over the top. Mythic battles. Heroic friendships. I often took them with a grain of salt. Overtime, the stories became more convoluted and began to blend together. My father would tell my brother and I that we would one day become men, whether by war or by experience. It was one of the few things that never changed. Always there, we would become men.

I never understood what my father meant. I was never suited for war and lived a life too spoiled to be hardened by experience. I, unlike my father, spent time in college. I learned through books, not the fog of war.

College was filled with few like-minded people and an overwhelming number otherwise. Parties failed to intrigue me. Straw-colored water flowed into plastic cups, I was lost.

One day I got a call from my father. We talked about my life and my schooling. I told him I could not stand the wasteland that lay before me. He told me of a concoction that would curtail my frustration.

It arrived in a box much too large. The precious liquid, guarded by glass and metal sat before me. I poured it. A little at first. A pale orange copper, billowy white head and pearly white lace greeted me with anticipation.

I put the liquid to my nose and inhaled. I could tell this was a very sweet brew, hops, spices (cinnamon), not unlike a summer day after it rains. Massive earthy aromas filled my nostrils.

Sweetness gives way to spices (cinnamon again?) and massive hops bitterness gives way to a dry, very mild alcohol spiciness. A lingering bitterness on the back of the tongue finishes this one off.
The sweetness of this beer was very pronounced as it warmed slightly. The hops, still ever-present, but the bitterness is somewhat cut by the extremely pleasant sweetness of the brew.

I finally understood what it meant to be a man.

Thanks to FeloniousMonk for hooking me up with this wicked awesome beer. (2,325 characters)

Stunning to look at. Medium amber with a pillowy, fluffy white head that laces all the way down. If someone ever asks what an IPA should look like, point at a picture of this one. Aroma of citric, grapefruity hops over a background of honey, bread, and a whiff of sweet tea.

Ever hear the Big Head Todd song "Bittersweet Surrender?" Reminds me of this beer. I cannot find a fault and I'm on my third pint. Starts out with this insanely clean yet bitter hop bite, just full of juicy, fresh floral and citrus rind hoppiness. Then a tea-with-honey maltiness comes in to balance the hops. The longer it sits on the palate a yeasty breadiness comes in as a background note. Stellar finish - lingering hop oil on the tongue, slightly caramelly malt all over the rest of the mouth, and an incredible clean fresh lingering bittersweet tea-and hops flavor. Perfection. I could not ask for more form an IPA. Mouthfeel is moderate and entirely appropriate for the alcohol content.

Drinkability? They don't make growlers big enough. Minnesota needs to pass a law allowing the use of carboys for growlers for this beer.

:bow: to BA JeffKrenner for the growler. I owe ya big time for this one guy. (1,244 characters)

Beautifully clear, dark copper with a thick, off-white head that holds strong all the way to the last drop. Great cobweb-like lacing. Absolutely perfect appearance, just a wonderful looking pint.

Aroma is a touch subdued, but what's there is superb. Lots of fresh, piney and citrusy hop aroma over a firm base of toasty and biscuity malt. Small hint of caramel. If the aroma was a bit more 'in your face', it would be an easy 5. Excellent balance.

Flavor is assertively bitter, with a big splash of earthy hop flavor. Lots of whole pine cones and orange and lemon peels coat my tongue. Some grapefruit, but not as much as expected. Small hint of apricot fruitiness. Holding it all up is a warm backbone of toasty and biscuity malt. Very smooth and round bitterness, and surprisingly well balanced for how hoppy it is. Integration of hops and malts is second to none. Finish is quite dry and a bit minerally, and goes on forever and ever...

Mouthfeel is on the lighter side of medium, with a fairly low amount of carbonation. Refreshing dryness on the finish gets you ready for the next sip.

Warm and round, bitter and beautiful. I had high expectations for this beer, and they were gladly met. It doesn't knock Two Hearted off it's podium, but it's damn close. This would be heavenly on cask, and I would consider myself extremely lucky to have such an amazing IPA as my local.

4.5 S: Smells a lot like the regular version only has a stronger fruitiness (which may instead be because it is fresh, rather than from a couple day old growler), woodiness, and pleasant yeastiness. Full of C hops - orange, grapefruit, pineapple, mango.

5.0 T: Mixture of tropical fruits listed in nose. Some caramel maltiness. Moderate bitterness which is less apparent than the regular. Woody and yeasty.

4.5 M: Medium body. Good moderate carbonation. Super creamy and super smooth. This would be a bit better with a touch more body.

5.0 D: Really great beer to begin with, but absolutely excellent on cask. IPAs are perfectly suited for cask. The added woodiness (yes, I know it isn't from a wooden cask, but that's the flavors that come through in any vessel) and yeastiness are great. (1,110 characters)

Pours a nice clean/clear golden orange/amber color, nice carbonation, huge two-finger creamy off-white head that lasts a long time, then leaves some nice sticky lacing. The nose is a big hop bomb, with some grapefruit, pines, and a good dose of caramel. The taste is absolutely delicious, hoppy, nice malt blend, grapefruity, and a good touch of pines/caramel. The finish is slightly dry and bitter. Medium body, a nice well rounded brew. Very drinkable, glad to finally make an effort to get this brew sent my way, why did I wait so long, lol Highly recommended. (611 characters)

I've had this so many numberous times from growlers and fresh right at the pub, thought perhaps it was time to do a review for the tapped version as the casked version is different but just as good if not better on-tap.

This is from a fresh growler:
Softly dulled bronze color, with a fine and firm capping of ivory hued foam. Head grows consistent and vigorously to a fine foam of puff. Gets bumby and moon-surfaced as it crumbles down slowly. Keeps a fine hazey skim and a load of thickly set lacing closer to the top of the liquid as the rest from towards the top is placed in light webby strings.

Now I've had a super fresh batch and the aroma first off the tap was awesomely peachy and loaded with hoppy goodness. This time around the aroma has been softened by alot from what I know what its capable of. So for now, I lower my number due to its softer touch. Gotta go with ya got. Still quite pungent though, just not as peachafied as those first tappings. What I do like is its fine crispness, very sharp and lofty with a big toasty malt showing its side of things on this day. The rest is made up of some very fresh pine thats fairly resinous. Tinges of orange sweep up along with a few bits of grapefruit and partailly heated hop dust.

The taste is what I've come to love about this beer. Supurb cleanness, carefully bittered, well balanced, citric and toasty. Those fresher batches tend to bring out the peach tones alot more, as does the cask offering, but this still rocks my world. Lovely toastyness, creamy, soft, caramel is slippery within. Buttery biscuits among the toasted stuff. But those hops really just make a nice accompanyment and entice the buds into a ballet of tongue dancing delight. Well placed and quite pungent pine resin grabs with an intense but evenly handled bite with great nuances of citrus tones leading into heavier orange and slighter grapefruit rinds and juices. This time around - very, very slight hint of peach in the creamier areas in the middle where the toasty stuff floats off. But other times I've had this the peach has really pushed forward as the dominate fruit and I love that even more then what it is now. Still... this....This is quite tasty.

Body is nearly full, great crispyness; clean, toasty, creamy in the middle, bittered with juicy citrus and pine, but not overloaded so as to burn the tonsils out the back of your throat. Its feverant, but mellowingly bittered. And as always, way to drinkable. So much so, this could possible be liquid crack for some folks out there. And as Hugey states, I too have yet to recieve a faultered pint full or growler full of this stuff. The peach tones weren't as present this time around, but when it does, it just adds another wave of magic to this already fantastic IPA.

Notes of difference: Cask body is fuller and more rounded where the edges blurr with hops and warmth. Cask tends to be more set with fruitier juices and bitterly tamed. Tapped body is cleaner and crisper with more edgeyness to the hop profile and with its bitterness it tends to give a sharper return quicker. Where as the cask version is more gradual in the hop profile and warming.

The tapped Mama is always available so when its on-cask, try em both side by side, you'll have lots of fun comparing and contrasting each of their subtlities. (3,332 characters)

Beer pours a deep copper color wit ha finger of head that falls to a half finger over top with a modest lacing as it falls. Nose is sweet sweet citrusy, resinous hops with a very solid deep sweet malty backbone. Flavor is a fine balance between sweet citrusy hop flavor, sweet caramel malt and a very modest peppery bitter that hangs on the finish, but very pleasingly. Feel is moderate to thick with a moderate carbonation of fine bubbles. This beer would be in my fridge every day of the year if I could have it that way. I don't think there is a more balanced American IPA out there. Great beer. (598 characters)

This brew is fresh out of a 1/2 gallon grolwer thanks to all-star BA Tavernjef. So, I open the packaged, open the growler, and a loud "swish" sound ensues. This brew pours out of the growler with a medium reddish/orangeish copper colour with an ample head of foam that is as big as the rocky mountains. The aroma of this brew is huge. First there is the huge smell of freshly cut citric and floral hops. Than a lovely, English-like, buttery, biscuity, bready, malty aroma shines through. The taste follows suit. It is big bolshy hops up front, and lovely biscuity malts in the middle. The balance achieved in this brew is excellent. The hops hit first up front. They are bitter, but for a regular IPA, they are not too bitter. The hops are placed in the background when the middle of this brew comes through with the flavors of buttery biscuits, and fresh baked french bread. The hops come back in the finish of this brew, but this time they have been mixed in with the buttery flavor of the malts. The finish of this brew reminds me of the "candy coated" hop flavor in Weyerbachers Hops Infusion. This brew reminds me of what the Hops Infusion would taste like if Weyerbacher did it up right. The mouthfeel is perfectly balanced and reminds me of a pint of freshly pulled cask ale from England. The carbonation is soft, and luxurious, and really makes the flavor of this brew explode on your tongue and in your mouth. The after-taste is dry, but flavorful, and it produces some very heavy hop burps. Nice! The drinkability is perfect, as this brew has just the right abv, aromas, flavors, and textures to make it a reall "all-night-drinker". One hell of a session IPA, they really have to start bottling this stuff. The number one single IPA on BA for a reason, but to me, there are still a few IPAs and 2XIPAs that I like better. Still, if I lived close to this brewery, i'd be a happy camper! (1,895 characters)

1/2 Gallon Growler. Received Friday, Novemeber 5th. Opened Sunday, November 7th. Finished Tuesday, November 9th. "Enjoy By 11-11" sticker on the back of the growler. (Would have been consumed earlier if it wasn't for a little get together the Bro's threw in Boston that Saturday).

Much thanks to Feloniousmonk for the growler and ending my want to try this esteemed brew.

Amber, hints of blood red when held up to the light. Huge, frothy, sticky head that leaves it's lacy trail all the way down the glass.

T - Grapefruit and floral up front with orange zest and a modest amount of malts soon following. As the beer warms, the malts increase in intensity and are joined by brilliantly tasty, yet not over the top, caramel and toffee flavors. Despite the magnitude of these elements, hops gloriously dominate throughout. The end is overpoweringly bitter, and the aftertaste is ascorbic acid and hops and hops and more hops.

M - Medium-bodied and crisp. This mouthfeel is second to none for IPAs - it's refreshing and not heavy or syrupy in the slightest - a miracle given the malt profile and pronounced sweet flavors.

D - Very drinkable, too - a 6% IPA with this much flavor is crazy. And the fact that it's überhopped makes the palate ready and willing for the next sip after each swallow.

If the rest of this review hasn't tipped my hand - I'm ecstatic about this beer!!! I've finally found an IPA from the midwest which stands up to (crushes?) the best from the west (not to take anything away from Furious, which is great in its own right). This was my first Town Hall beer, and I had high expectations. It exceeded them easily, because this beer gets *everything* right: there is enough great-tasting, sweet malt to temper the blistering hops, but it's truly not to the detriment of the blissful bitterness. The relatively low ABV and superb mouthfeel combine with the taste to make this extremely easy to drink. Top notch all-around brew here - I can't wait to have it again! (1,664 characters)

Poured a clear golden amber color. Fantastic hop smell, nice malty sweetness in the background. Taste is of bitter hops, plenty of pine goodness and grapefruit, with an excellent malt backbone that keeps this one incredibly well-balanced. Fantastic IPA. So good in fact, I stopped back by Town Hall the very next night, after dropping off my girlfriend at the airport, to get a growler, which will be reviewed shortly. Fantastic brew pub and servings. (451 characters)

A big thanks goes out to grub for sending me a growler during his recent visit to the twin cities. After chilling for a day, I popped this baby open. Off the pour, I got a creamy 1" head of dense, yet rocky, off-white foam. Things receded a bit, but plenty of head stuck around to produce thick, clumpy lacing. Very balanced aroma, with some malt sweetness providing counterpoint for the tangerine and piney hops (with a little grapefruit too). Solid bitterness with significant malt sweetness to start, along with some floral orange, grapefruit and pine. The bitterness slowly grew into the finish, where it became fairly intense. Along the way there were notes of toasted, biscuity malt and peaches. Kind of a sweet-tart character too. Medium bodied with medium/low carbonation. A bit creamy on the palate too, with some hop dryness. Overall, this has great balance. My taste buds were put through a work out but didn't get tired too fast, which let me enjoy quite a bit of this in a single sitting. I'd love to try this at the brewpub. Highly recommended and not overhyped. (1,076 characters)

Aroma has more going on than most I(1)PA's. Yeah it's got the typical citrusy hops and crisp notes that your average IPA has, but it does have more of them. What sets this one apart from other IPA's I've had is the notes of cinnamon and nutmeg that are hanging out just above the surface. Slightly bready too so its like a snickerdoodle cookie, or a sweet dessert bread smothered in fresh citrus fruit. Wonderful stuff.

The flavor comes through with some great clean crisp citrus fruit and fruit rinds, but that isn't what impresses me. What impresses me is the bready backbone that pushes the flavor and accelerates it.

This isn't what I expected when I went to try it, no way.

This isn't a brew that is satisfied with showing off with all kinds of hops, no she's balanced, she's hip, she's got more going on than you thought she did when you ordered her. She's intimidating all of a sudden, she likes to take charge. Before you know it, she'll have you tied up to a bed with a blindfold on.

Mildly hazy, tawny-gold-brown in hue, it was served with a slightly off-white head that was a finger in height. The head retention was very good, after a long while it faded to a frothy cap. The subsequent lacing was sticky and widespread. On cask, this is a beauty of a beer! The nose, on cask, is much softer but much wider. The malt is heard more clearly; still the pine and citrus from the hops are loud but far more balanced, not only in comparison to the malt but also to each other. The nose still says IPA. Inviting. The palate is lovely, the hops are so wonderfully blended, the piney notes are not bright but they are wide. The citrus notes are very sticky which seems to act like a spiders web that captures (okay, attracts) more malty flavors with hints of caramel and some sweetness. The aftertaste is lighter but, again, the pine is the focal point. This is amazingly tasty on cask; it is very relaxing; I mean what a great pint to chill with. There is ample flavor construction and it is complex for an IPA. Lovely stuff on cask (Ive I became a broken record?)! Medium in body with a creamy mouthfeel with typical cask condition qualities, it was served at the ideal temperature. This is amazingly drinkable and almost perfect on the palate. This IPA has received a lot of press, some good, and some bad, some utterly insane. Folks, live at the brewpub this beer is great and on cask, it is unparalleled. Highly Recommend (on cask)! (1,451 characters)

The taste explains why this is the number 1 IPA in America. Big mango (really!), oranges, strong bitter, dry finish that blows your mind, dashes of citrus, a hint of the sweet malt backing that is hidden behind the hops. You could swear this is a big ABV IPA.

Bright carbonation, bold body. This IPA has the whole meal deal. I could drink this all night - and probably will.

Edit: Also growler brought back. The thing to say about this beer is balance. Balance between hops, balance with the malts, complexity of flavors - damn near perfect. (781 characters)

GROWLER TIME! Yeah, this was sent to me by BDLbrewster, who over delivered with this trade. He may be my favorite person in the world right now. Poured into a big Bordeaux Schott Zwiesel glass.This pours a serious head. One that comes builds to a inch and a half with the mildest of pours. That head, rocky and a pretty shade of soft tan sits on top of a deep amber colored beer with ruby highlights. The head leaves heavy sheets of lacing down the glass as it recoils back into the beer. Give it a swirl and it is back up without any hesitation, like beer on Viagra.

The nose is something special. A beautiful meshing here of resin-y, fresh, pitchy hops and a dense confectioners malt bill comes jumping out of the growler as soon as it is opened. The aromas of Kaffir lime, pine cone, tobacco and aspirin beat out the sticky pulled caramel, fresh doughnut and custard underneath. Something to behold.

The flavors are enormous. I mean big, West Coast big, palate obliterating big. But this beer has what so few of the "West Coast" IPAs have which is completely impeccable balance. The malt counteracts the intense hops perfectly, the bitterness is never overwhelming, but rather refreshing stripping the palate of the layers of malt that sit on the tounge. This is about as close to perfection that I've seen in an IPA. The medicinal, aspirin-y, tone left on the finish is the only thing keeping this from a 5 in my book.

The mouthfeel is awesome, plain and simple to have all these rich flavors and textures battling it out is a joy to behold. The carbonation is perfect for me, apparent but never obtrusive, just enough to clean things up a bit. Has a finish that seems to linger on for ever. I'm sure I'll be able to taste this beer long into the night. It makes me not want to brush my teeth before bed just so I can dream about it.

This is super drinkable! At less than 6% I want to drink the whole growler tonight and with the help of one glass for my neighbor and one for my Girlfriend I just might. Keep finding a way to go down my throat with ease.

I wish I had this locally. I'm sure everyone that has had it does. I don't know if I'd drink anything else, especially in the summer. Easily one of the best IPAs I've ever tasted and about as close to perfection as I've ever had. (2,294 characters)

Unmitigated thanks to klikger for this wonderful growler. Really, the best trader. Poured into a surly pint glass.

A: As dark as IPAs get, a translucent raisin brown/red. A nice off-brown head of foam leaves draping lacing all over the glass.

S: Milky caramel, a little bit of hazelnut, nougat, and caramel swirl together with an expert craft slightly pine hop character. This is really different but damn it just smells delicious, and it all comes together too well.

T: An initial hoppy caramel taste comes through and transitions into a nougat, slight dark fruit middle that builds into a bitter toffee and hop ending. So different, and mad delicious.

M: A medium-heavy body that has enough creaminess to support its sweeter side and enough carbonation to make sense of the hops. Really perfect balance for the taste profile.

O: I didnt know what to expect and I was very, very happy. This is an amazing IPA. You really can't get more flavor out of a single IPA. This sort of caramel/toffee/nougat taste was blended and balanced so well with the hoppiness, I cant not give this an A. (1,094 characters)